By Megan Burke, Tom Fudge, Peggy Pico
Under newly passed Proposition 47, certain non-violent crimes would be lowered from felonies to misdemeanors. Those crimes include drug possession, petty theft, shoplifting, receiving stolen property and forging and writing bad checks.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Dave Greenberg said new misdemeanor cases would be handled by the San Diego City Attorney’s office. That means roughly 3,000 more cases each year will now fall under the jurisdiction of the city attorney.
The District Attorney’s Office will continue to handle misdemeanor and felony cases at its branches in other parts of the county.
In addition to those awaiting sentencing, an estimated 1,800 people currently in custody in San Diego County may be eligible for re-sentencing. The San Diego County public defender’s office created an eligibility checklist that has been distributed in the county jails.